“At the time Simon Grayson went, Nigel Adkins had just been sacked and a lot of people put two and two together and came up with the wrong answer.

“We don’t know whether Adkins was in the running but he was the name on everybody’s mind.”

Pepper said he was impressed with ex-Manchester United striker Robins’ pedigree and his relegation-fighting experience with Rotherham, Barnsley and Coventry.

“His track record is very good given that our immediate aim is to avoid relegation,” said Pepper. But looking to the longer term he seems very keen to develop the Academy.

“He was also consulted by the FA on the Elite Player Performance Plan so that fits very well with the club’s ethos of developing young players.”

Pepper also praised caretaker boss Mark Lillis, who only lost once in five matches and pushed Town through to a lucrative FA Cup fifth round tie against Wigan on Sunday.

“Mark Lillis did a great job and bought the board time. He gave them chance to make the right appointment.”

Pepper believes Tuesday’s Championship game at Notts Forest is the priority over Sunday and added: “It will be interesting to see what kind of team Robins puts out on Sunday given the Forest game is more important.

“It’s a real selection dilemma.”

Avid Town fan and Colne Valley Tory MP Jason McCartney recalled interviewing then Rotherham boss Robins when he was a TV journalist.

“He was a bright young manager who did well in difficult circumstances and brought through Adam Le Fondre, who is now in the Premier League with Reading,” he said.

“Hopefully this is a long-term appointment and we have an ambitious manager who can build a legacy for Town’s future.”

Steve King, chairman of HTSA, attended the press conference when Robins was unveiled and was impressed.

“He seems to know what he wants and how he wants to get it,” he said.

“He is a different personality to the last two managers. He seems more reserved, not necessarily in his opinions but in the way he puts them across.

“Let’s hope he has the experience to keep us in this division.

“He has certainly made an impact wherever he has been.”

John Robb, founder and chairman of the Heavy Woollen branch of HTSA, also backed Robins.

“He has done well for the three clubs he’s been at and hopefully he can do the same for us,” he said.

“We don’t look like a relegation team, and Robins is keen on the youth set-up.

“I hope he can work closely with Mark Lillis and the Academy and build for the future. That’s the key to it for me.”